IKEA is out in the sticks here in Portland, OR, but it also happens to be right off a dedicated bike path, so it's only about a 10 mile jaunt with the Xtracycle to bring back a whole load of bargain-basement slave-labor goodies.

The cardboard bike is a terrible idea. Any bike that isn't lugged steel is rubbish. Also think about that cardboard bike for a second: it's fibers held together by glue! Not too different from a carbon bike and we know how terrible those can be!! ;)

Seriously, I love hearing about things like cardboard and wooden bikes.

Ikea is now in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY - http://info.ikea-usa.com/Brooklyn/ - and a bike trailer rental would be perfect for most people who live within a few miles of Red Hook i.e. Park Slope, Carol Gardens, Beurum Hill, Cobble Hill, Downtown BK, Prospect Heights, basically a 3 mile radius from the center of Prospect Park.

Not to mention the fact that there is very little car parking in Park Slope and I'd think people with multi-million dollar brownstones would feel that much more self satisfied by delivering their low cost (but stylish) Scandanavian furnishings via human power.

Ikea is building in a sort of industrial area on the edge of downtown Tampa, a few blocks from trendy Ybor City. It would be cycleable for a fair part of the city. But I don't think many people would use them here. Mostly you ride either on the sidewalk or a bike trail. I used to blame it on narrow streets, but in Philadelphia, with even narrower streets I saw bikes everywhere. I hadn't seen so many safety levers in 20 years. Drivers here just seem not to be used to sharing the road.

I love the concept of the cardboard bike, not a big fan of disposable stuff. But living in a high property crime area and having several bikes stolen over the years the concept of an easily replaceable inexpensive bike is very intriguing.